During the last 25 years, we’ve certified over 110,000 professionals. To celebrate our 25th year in business, we’re selecting 25 grads to showcase this year. Meet our next featured grad, William Ramsey, an AFPA Sports Conditioning Specialist, owner and trainer at Ramsey Performance Training.
How did your interest and passion for this field begin?
My passion for sports conditioning started at an early age; I would say around the age of 12. That’s when my dad bought me my first weight set. I was lifting weights so I could get bigger for sports.
Why did you decide to pursue a certification in the health/nutrition field?
After playing sports through high school and into college and getting a degree in Health Science, I decided that having a certification in Sports Conditioning would only add more credibility to what I was doing and saying.
What made you particularly interested in the specific certifications that you chose to complete?
Being a former athlete and having two sons who were and still to this day are heavily involved in sports, I felt that any certifications that I would get, would be more sport specific in nature. That’s why I choose Specialist in Sports Conditioning as my first certification from AFPA.
Become a Certified Holistic Nutritionist Online in 6 Months or Less
Why did you choose AFPA as your certifying organization?
I chose AFPA for several reasons, including the excellent reputation of the organization; the quality of the certification and AFPA being accredited; the ease of taking the courses and courses that were/are specific to what I do; and lastly, the affordability of the courses.
Where were you in your health/fitness career prior to receiving your certification?
Prior to being certified through AFPA, I held certifications from numerous other certification bodies. What I found while going through the AFPA certification, is that an AFPA certification is comparable to or exceeds all of the other certifications I have had.
What do you do now?
I have been training athletes for over twenty years. I own Ramsey Performance Training (RPT), where we train athletes who play every sport. We specialize in speed, agility, conditioning, and explosive training.
How did receiving your certification change your career?
In the training field, you see a lot of people who buy some cones or hurdles and call themselves trainers. I personally know that having credentials give my clients and the parents of my younger clients confidence in what I do. They know that I have invested in myself and that I take my craft seriously.
What do you like best about working in this industry?
Working in this industry makes me smile, to see the athletes I work with have success in their sport. It brings me joy to see them having fun and accomplishing their goals. It feels good to be at least a small part of it.
What does a typical day look like for you now?
A typical day for me is arriving at the facility around 6 a.m. and getting in my first group of former athletes. They still like to train as if they are playing because they like the camaraderie and the intensity of the workout. From there, depending on the time of the year, I have various athletes coming in throughout the day, up till approximately 8 p.m. at night. There are some breaks throughout the day; it just varies depending on which athletes are in season and which are not.
Would you recommend AFPA to others?
I would definitely recommend AFPA to anyone who is considering entering any of the health and fitness fields. I would advise them to at least give AFPA a look and compare what you are truly getting.
Do you have any advice for other people considering making the leap into a health, fitness or nutrition career?
My advice to anyone considering a career in the fields of health, fitness, nutrition, or sports conditioning, invest in yourself and never stop learning.
Taking a yoga instructor course can provide you with the necessary knowledge, skills, and certification to become a successful and confident yoga instructor.
